Written by: Darby Gates, Marketing Research Assistant
The most ironic statement in the business world is this:
“Your call is VERY important to us. Please stay on the line and the next available assistant will help you. Calls are answered in the order they are received.”
Which is just about the time you are put into Hold Hell. Never to be acknowledged again.
Ring Ring
“(Insert Business name here), Dottie speaking, how may I direct your call?”
“Mr/Mrs _________, please.”
“And who may I say is calling?”
“Darby with __________”
This is where the phone conversations get fun.
“Darcy?”
“No Darby.”
“Darlene?”
No. Darby. With a B.”
“OH. Barbie. One moment please and I’ll connect you…”
Smooth gentle sounds that soothe you to sleep play softly in the background.
“Barbie? Mr/Mrs ____________ is not available/on the other line/hiding under his/her desk from me, can I put you into their voicemail?”
“Does (so in so) have an email address? I can send some information to them.”
“Yes, but I am not allowed to give out the email addresses.”
“May I send it to you so you can forward it along to the appropriate person?”
“Sure. My name is __________ and my email is _______ . _______ at company dot com”
Making note that you can just insert the appropriate persons name into the correct slot.
“Great. I’ll be sure to send the information right over to you. You can go ahead and put me into their voicemail. Thanks for your help.”
This is a typical phone conversation in my daily life as a sales representative. Occasionally you get the “There is no answer at the number you have just dialed” message.
Um…wasn’t that message technically an answer?
Being in this field, you have to have the ability to take everything with a grain of salt. Plenty of time you will be hung up on, yelled at, placed on hold for eternity in hopes that we just eventually give up and disconnect, or end up in the land of eternal “Press one for…”
DO NOT take every “I’m sorry, but we do not need/want your service at this time” personally. You will most likely make 80 phone calls and hear 80 No’s to get one Yes. It’s just the nature of the business. Like us, the companies we are calling also have a goal in mind. It just so happens their goal is to deflect as many as our calls as possible.
Best quote I have seen regarding sales calls: “If a sales representative calls, give the phone to your three year old and tell her it’s Santa.”
Please don’t.
Cold calling is an art form. Make it your happy medium and you’ll go places in this business.
Still need more help with your cold-calling? Launch Leads can help. We are the experts in prospecting and we do the heavy lifting for our clients. Learn how we can help you.
Here are a few more articles on cold-calling:
Top 10 Reasons to Outsource your Lead Generation and Appointment Setting Process
